Ark Undead

Little Maria turned to look at Zofia, her voice childish yet serious and earnest.

Without realizing it, she resembled someone else very much.

"If it wasn't me, then who would have stepped forward?"

After saying this, little Maria stood up and turned to face the Undead.

She took on a responsibility that a child shouldn't have to bear.

She gazed at her sister's departing figure and vowed to protect the honor of the Lin Guang family.

Now, she lowered her head, which should have been proud, to the knight who was fighting against fate.

"Mr. Undying".

Now, she lowered her head, which should have been proud, to the knight who was fighting against fate.

"I, Maria Nearl, request that you teach me knightly skills."

Upon hearing this, the immortal also stood up from the ground and looked down at the weak child.

Back then, he was just as weak, and he longed for the sun.

"I ask you. What do you think a knight is?"

A moment of confusion flashed in Maria's eyes, then she spoke firmly.

"I don't know what a knight is, but I think that a knight's honor should not be masked by hypocritical self-interest. Knights like my sister and aunt, who fight for the honor of their family and themselves, are definitely right!"

Zofia blinked, tears welling up in her eyes for some reason. She looked at Maria as if she were looking at Margaret from the past.

They were all the same, upholding the honor and virtues of chivalry.

"One's vision should not be short-sighted."

The undead's muffled voice echoed from within their heavy armor.

"A knight is more than just honor."

Maria suddenly looked up at the Undead, her beautiful golden eyes filled with joy.

He didn't refuse!

"Teacher! Please teach me!"

"Oh..."

The immortal chuckled.

His gaze was fixed on Maria, yet it seemed to pierce through the long river of history, looking at the phantom of the distant past.

In the ancient land of Lordran, there once lived an immortal who longed for the sun.

The shield in his hand was an ordinary iron shield with a crudely drawn sun.

The straight sword in his right hand was an ordinary iron sword, and even the blade was scarred from the battle.

"You shall shine upon all things."

But his eyes were filled with determination, and his words were inspiring.

He reached out his right hand to the dejected undead, to pull him up.

Like the sun, he spreads warm light, dispelling the fear in the hearts of the undead.

He was smiling gently.

"You must become the sun."

31. Miracle Recovery

Ding!

The iron bars collided, and little Maria took a step back, panting, before laboriously holding the iron bar horizontally in front of her.

Ding!

Another attack struck, and the web of Little Maria's right hand went numb. She staggered back two steps, almost falling to the ground.

"Concentrate your strength. Block, aim carefully."

Accompanying the deep sound was yet another swing of the iron rod!

Ding!

The iron rod struck the iron bar that Maria was using to block it, knocking her to the ground with a thud.

"Ha...ha...teacher..."

Maria squatted on the ground, her right hand numb, and the iron rod fell to the ground, clattering twice.

"Ten minutes, then continue."

The Undead threw the iron rod in his hand to the campfire and sat down beside it.

Maria stood up from the ground, dragging her tired body, and like an undead, sat down by the campfire, then took out a small handle device from her bosom.

This is a portable spellcasting tool, and Maria is panting as she uses her Originium Arts.

A pure white light shone from Maria's hand, slowly soothing the numbness and tingling in her right hand and gradually restoring her dwindling strength.

This is the third day since Maria obtained the Undead's consent to learn knightly skills from him the day before yesterday.

After returning that day, Zofia, as one of Maria's guardians, prepared an apprentice gift for the Undead on Maria's behalf.

A shield bearing the Nearl family crest, symbolizing the entrustment of a portion of the Nearl family to the Undead.

The next day, Maria also knelt earnestly before the Undead and performed the traditional Kazimierz ritual of receiving instruction from a teacher.

The undead planted a longsword in front of Maria, who pulled it out and knighted the undead.

This symbolizes the passing down of skills among knights, just as an aging knight entrusts his faith and skills to a younger knight.

Although the undead were not interested in these things, he even found them somewhat troublesome.

However, Zofia and Maria insisted on performing the ceremony, as it was a code of etiquette they, as knights and nobles, had to follow. In this respect, they were quite traditional.

The way the Undead taught Maria was the most ordinary, yet also the most outrageous.

Practice.

Instead of teaching Maria the most basic slashing and parrying techniques, the Undead threw her an iron rod and told her to use it to fight him.

Maria had to put in a lot of effort to learn how to wield the iron rod, which was about a meter long, freely.

The Undead gave Maria a death order.

Maria is not allowed to release her weapon before she loses. If the weapon is knocked away or falls to the ground, Maria's sparring session is immediately over.

Yesterday, Maria spent almost the entire day learning how to hold onto her iron rod while enduring the undead's steady attacks.

The use of iron rods was also the Undead Man's own idea.

Although Maria never gave up trying to learn on her own, she still had too little time to train seriously, and the stances used by the Kazimierz knights had been almost etched into Maria's mind.

Therefore, the only way to get rid of Maria's bad habit of wielding weapons in the shortest time is to make her understand what actions she cannot withstand attacks from undead, and what actions she can withstand.

Every two seconds, the Undead would swing a hand-held iron bar and strike Maria at a random angle.

This cruel method almost made Zofia rush up and fight the undead at the beginning.

Fortunately, Kuranta's body was tough enough, and Maria was also born into a noble knightly family, so her physical abilities were definitely top-notch.

Despite getting several bumps from being hit on the first day, Maria, with her Originium Arts, still arrived before the Undead on the second day as promised to continue their sparring session.

Speaking of which, I must mention something.

Maria's Originium Arts are derived from the traditional Originium Arts of the Nearl family, and they are all about light.

It can unleash a brilliant light, healing itself or enhancing its own attacks.

Of course, as Maria gradually develops her Originium Arts, there will certainly be other uses for them.

But for now, Maria's greatest use of Originium Arts is...

It means being able to heal one's body after enduring a day of brutal beatings by someone who can't die.

So that your body won't be so weak that you can't move when you wake up the next day.

The Undead originally intended to heal Maria himself, but after discovering that Maria could heal herself, he silently put down his left hand, which was about to perform a miracle.

Ten minutes passed quickly. The Undead stood up, picked up the iron rod again, and nudged the exhausted Maria beside him.

Maria took a deep breath and stood up from the ground.

Her request was no joke, and she knew it herself. It would be her greatest regret if she couldn't cherish the teachings of the Undead.

"Teacher...please continue!"

Maria gripped the iron rod firmly in her right hand, staring intently at the Undead's right hand.

She quickly grasped the key point: before defending, one must clearly see the trajectory of the opponent's moves.

The instant the Undead moved, Maria's pupils contracted, and she instinctively raised the iron rod in her right hand.

Ding!

The iron rod took all the force straight down. Maria originally wanted to shift the iron rod to the right, but she didn't have enough time to react.

When he saw the Undead move, he had barely raised his own hand when the shockwave from the collision already entangled his right hand.

That's too fast!

Maria gasped softly, feeling that her teacher was a little faster.

It wasn't that Maria was quick to die, but rather that after a morning of sparring, she had to use Originium Arts to heal her injuries.

Maria is currently experiencing both mental and physical exhaustion.

That's why she couldn't see the immortal's moves clearly, and it was even more difficult for her to fully withstand the immortal's power.

"Pay attention, defend. Attempt, counterattack."

The Undead spoke up to remind Maria. He could see that little Maria was exhausted. But he still launched his attack precisely two seconds later.

Ding!